Asa Miller's coach says Olympian will 'put his head into slalom mode' after DNF in giant slalom

It was a frustrating run for Filipino-American alpine skier Asa Miller, but his coach Will Gregorak said the Olympian will now look ahead to his next event on Wednesday.

Miller on Sunday registered a DNF (did not finish) in the giant slalom event of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, missing the second run held in the afternoon.

“Asa wants to put his head into slalom mode,” Gregorak said. “He’ll take today and let the frustration out and then tomorrow we will go back to slalom.”

The Olympian slipped early in his turn as he skis through the snowy terrains of Beijing, China. Gregorak described the giant slalom's course as a 'bummer,' owing to the snowy condition of the area since Saturday.

“It’s certainly a bummer as the course got skied out,” said Gregorak. "It’s not good on the upper pitch. I feel bummed for him but he had an excellent warm up this morning.”

Out of 89 skiers, only 54 finished the race, with Swiss national Marco Odermatt leading the first run.

"Asa didn’t want to ski just to finish. He wants to ski, lay down and run,” Gregorak added. “The hard part about this hill is that it comes out as you ride and it gets very slick.”

Philippine Olympic Committee president and Rep. Abraham Tolentino, meanwhile, said he is still proud of Miller's performance.

“I’m still proud of him, he still put out the work,” Tolentino said. “Like I said, he didn’t go out [only] to finish. That’s the nature of the sport, that’s what could happen.”

Miller will be back in action on Wednesday when he competes in the slalom event, his final competition in the Beijing Winter Games.

—Justin Kenneth Carandang/JMB, GMA News